WATCHWORD:
1 “When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River. 2 Large crowds followed him there, and he healed their sick.3 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him… some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Matthew 19:1-3a,13-14
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:37
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
Meditation:
Exposed!
The cultural and Biblical times in Jerusalem were not pleasant. Some of the practices, by today’s standards, were outright criminal, even homicidal. That was especially true if you were female, who were considered something less than chattel, or were born with a handicap, or were born into a family that already had too many children.
There was a practice of “unnatural selection” common in the Greco-Roman world. By Roman Law, a father was required to raise all healthy male children, but only the firstborn female. All others, not falling in those two categories, were “disposable”. In Jerusalem, the law was carried out through a practice called “exposure”. Those babies, often alive, were left to die in the elements on the dung heap, outside the gates, in the Gehenna Valley, south of the city.
It is into this environment, that Jesus, speaking to a crowd that included Pharisees, instructed his disciples to allow the little children to come to him “For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” This was only one of many issues that generated animosity toward Jesus and his followers.
Exposure! That was as awful as it sounds. The grief that followed that practice must have been palpable. Yet here was Jesus introducing a new idea, compassion. The value of human life was lifted above the dung heap, and given dignity. It took a long time, over centuries, for this concept to become common practice. For Jesus to declare that we come to him as children, gave birth to so many loving ideas that we hold dear today.
You get the impression, if you looked closely, that Jesus could be a very irritating person to be around for the Pharisees. It wasn’t just the acceptance of children that drew the ire of the teachers of the Law. He did not like commerce in the temple and did something about it! He didn’t hesitate to call a spade a spade, except he said “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” When He saw something evil, he did not waste words on diplomacy.
But, He reached out to widows, lepers, the blind, children, cripples, and he paid little attention to restrictions on the Sabbath. His compassion trumped Jewish law and he healed where healing was needed. He was not affable and he was sensitive to suffering.
Jesus’ message was clear. The culture and the times were not pleasant, but our Lord was laying out the model…go and do likewise. Love as I love. Do as I do. Change the personal world around you. For to such is the Kingdom of God. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Kindness and Compassion in War —
We had just searched a small village that had been suspected of harboring Viet Cong. We really tore the place up-it wasn’t hard to do, but had found nothing. Just up the trail from the village we were ambushed. I got hit and don’t remember anything more until I woke up with a very old Vietnamese woman leaning over me. Before I passed out again I remembered seeing her in the village we had just destroyed and I knew I was going to die. When I woke again, the hole in my left side had been cleaned and bandaged, and the woman was leaning over me again offering me a cup of warm tea. As I was drinking the tea and wondering why I was still alive, a helicopter landed nearby to take me back. The woman quietly got up and disappeared down the trail.
–Unknown author
Closing Prayer:
Lord of unfailing love, my life is a living testimony to Your kindness and forgiveness. You redeemed me from an eternity separated from You when I did not deserve it. How then can I reflect unkindness toward anyone? Lord, do not let it be so in my life. Kindness is the instrument of my Holy God, and I want to become a skilled user. Grant me knowledge, discernment, and precision to use kindness to cut out hatred, racism, indifference, inequality, and all the other afflictions that run rampant in the human race. Use me, Lord, to lead out in Your kindness and to be Your catalyst for change. Amen.
